The present invention relates to a home control system, and more particularly to a home control system for security such as prevention of crimes and fire in house and for control of domestic appliance or interphones.
A typical example of a home control (also referred to as a home monitor) which is commercially available is shown in FIG. 8 (refer to NEC technical bulletin Vol. 35, No. 9, 1982). In the drawings, reference numeral 1 represents a home monitor main body 2 an interphone annexed to the home monitor; 3 a fire sensor having one of crime and fire prevention functions which are main functions of a home monitor; 4a gas leakage sensor; 5 an air ventilation sensor; 6a water leakage sensor; and 7 an invasion sensor. As other house keeping inputs, there are provided a bath water level sensor 8; a bath water temperature sensor 9; a room temperature detection sensor 10; a two-system remote control switch 11 for operating a lamp (not shown) above an entry hall steps. As outputs, there are provided an electric lock 12, a ventialtion fan stopping and operating relays 13 and 14 which are actuated in response to the detection of fire and gas leakage (for example the relays are commanded to stop and actuate when fire and gas leakage are detected respectively), an output signal 15 for alarming an abnormality in a room to a control room and a connection signal 16 which is fed to an additional interphone. (The description of the more detail of the panel will be omitted).
The prior art home control system has been formed as mentioned above. Its feature resides in that minimum functions necessary for house keeping or home control are centralized in a central control board (or monitor board), that respective input/output devices are star connected (one to one wired) with the controller main body, and that accident occurence and alarm are transmitted to users by synthesized voice so that they are readily recognizable, and that the system has a function that a part of the abnormality are transmitted to a superintendent room. It is deemed that the system configuration has an excellent cost performance as home control device for apartment house.
However it will become impossible for the prior art system to cope with the increase in the number of appliances to be monitored or controlled due to an increase in the number of rooms in an apartment house, the remote location of the appliances from the central controller and the variety of requests of users in usual separate houses. Specific problems are that (1) wiring is complicated, (2) the system has no extendability, (3) there is no functional compatability between interphone and control system and (4) it is not easy to cope with various applications.